had to say good-by to a dear friend...

i have had so many stoopid-good times with this hunk of junk i honestly shed a tear as it went up onto the flat-bed for the last time.

 so many times this beast has gotten me through horrible weather on either a rescue or just getting home. the rest of my former team would agree, the van was a team player. it provided shelter and heat while the command posts were being set up, team transport and i even hauled off a couple dead bodies.

 some magic marker fun while dylan and i made our way to Bonneville; he was pretty bored.

 for a couple months this was my temporary home. when i couldn't make it home between one of my 5 jobs at the time, all i needed was a sleeping bag and a camp stove. shoot, thanks to its ability to swallow almost anything i was able to move my brother out of his apartment with one trip! and when you're doing a move in the middle of the night while the roomies are away, one trip is all you get.

 the flame thrower was handy for merging onto the highway when no one wants to let you in.

 gonna miss this turd

100,000 miles in 6-ish years in an old Air Guard van. including: 3 transcontinental trips, one groom's abduction, 2 smoke out wests, countless epic camping trips, too many hitch-hikers, boatloads of dirty van humpin and more "are we dead yet" moments than i care to recount. you will be missed.